MK History A Brief History of The Magic Kingdom opened its gates for the first time on October 1, 1971. It was Walt Disney Productions second theme park and patterned after the successful Disneyland in California. Although it was Walt Disneys concept he did not live to see construction begin. On October 25, 1971 the park was dedicated by Walts brother and founding partner in Walt Disney Productions, Roy O Disney. Walt Disney World is a tribute to the philosophy and life of Walter Elias Disney... and to the talents, the dedication and the loyalty of the entire Disney organization that made Walt Disneys dream come true. May Walt Disney World bring Joy and Inspiration and new Knowledge to all who come to this happy place... a Magic Kingdom where the young at heart of all ages can laugh a play and learn - together. It is important to note that unlike any of the other Disneyland-style theme parks, The Magic Kingdom was not designed as a stand alone attraction. It was conceived of as only one part of the massive, continually evolving project that is the Walt Disney World Resort.

When the park opened it had six lands ( Main Street U.S.A., Adventureland, Liberty Square, Frontierland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland) and 23 attractions. Opening day attractions included the following. Main Street Vehicles, Walt Disney World Railroad, Main Street Cinema, Penny Arcade, Skyway, Mickey Mouse Review, Jungle Cruise, Sunshine Pavilion, Swiss Family Treehouse, Mike Fink Keel Boats, Diamond Horseshoe Review, Frontier Shooting Gallery, Country Bear Jamboree, Davey Crocketts Explorer Canoes, Haunted Mansion, Hall of Presidents, Snow Whites Adventures, Mr. Toads Wild Ride, Cinderellas Golden Carrousel, Dumbo, the Flying Elephant, Mad Tea Party, Its a Small World, and Grand Prix Raceway. Between opening day and dedication day, several other attractions were added to the park (Admiral Joe Fowler River Boat, Peter Pans Flight, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea etc.) By Thanksgiving 1971 Magic Kingdom visitors caused Central Floridas biggest traffic jam and proved that the Magic Kingdom was a huge success. Tomorrowland opened with almost no attractions up and running.

Imagineers planned to open the area slowly with a completion date in 1975. The first new attraction to open was Circle-Vision in November 1971, followed by Flight to the Moon on Christmas Eve 1971, and in June 1972 If You Had Wings debuted. Over at the other end of the Park things were brewing. A plot of land next to the Rivers of America had been set aside for an attraction called the Western River Expedition. This attraction was intended to be a river journey past bandits and other Audio Animatronic characters. This would be an attraction unique to the Magic Kingdom and was intended to be installed in lue of the successful Disneyland attraction, Pirates of the Caribbean. But many guests came to the park expecting to see Pirates of the Caribbean, and were disappointed when it wasnt there. So, Disney decided to scrap the the Western River Expedition and build a second Pirates attraction in Adventureland. In 1973 Pirates of the Caribbean opened, along with a new area of Adventureland, Caribbean Plaza. Also that year, rafts began transporting guests to Tom Saywer Island and the Richard F. Irvine Riverboat had its maiden voyage.

We go back to Tomorrowland for 1974. On January 15, Space Mountain opened. It is one of the most unique and exciting attractions ever developed by the Imagineers, and the first completely original major attraction designed for the Florida park. Although overshadowed by Space Mountain, other attractions opening in 1974 included the Circle Vision show, Magic Carpet 'Round the World, and the Star Jets. In 1975 a basic problem with Tomorrowland became obvious. The design of the Magic Kingdoms Tomorrowland was based on the Tomorrowland built at Disneyland in 1967. By 1975, it was already eight years out of date. The first example of this was the closing of Flight to the Moon on April 15, 1975. Even before the last of Tomorrowland attractions had come on line for the first time, one of them had to be closed and updated. On June 7, 1975 Mission to Mars opened in the building where Flight to the Moon had been for two and a half short years. Later that year, the last two original Tomorrowland attractions opened, The WEDWAY People Mover and the Carousel of Progress.

At this point things quieted down at the Magic Kingdom while the company turned its attention to designing and building the second Walt Disney World theme park, EPCOT Center. Walt Disney World opened with a unique Electrical Water Pageant presented in 7 Seas Lagoon out in front of the Magic Kingdom. The Imagineers took this concept, developed it further and in 1972, the Main Street Electrical Parade premiered at Disneyland. In 1977, The Main Street Electrical Parade came home to its roots and on June 11, stepped off for the first time in the Magic Kingdom. Changes at the Magic Kingdom were slow in coming due to EPCOT Center. In 1979, things slowed even further when Walt Disney Productions signed a contract with the Oriental Land Company to build their first theme park in a foreign country. Tokyo Disneyland was officially under way. Over in the Magic Kingdoms Frontierland, the empty patch of ground originally meant to be the home of the Western River Expedition, became the home to the parks second thrill ride, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. At 197 feet, Big Thunder Mountain is the tallest Mountain in Florida.

Although Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was installed at Disneyland first (1979), it was originally designed for this plot of land in the Magic Kingdom and opened there in 1980. In 1980, The Mickey Mouse Review in Fantasyland was closed so that it could be shipped to Tokyo where it would open with the newest Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland. The theatre in which the Mickey Mouse Review was located was closed and only used occasionally for the next six years. On October 1, 1981, The Magic Kingdom turned 10 years old, and on October 1, 1982 EPCOT Center opened its gates for the first time. Six months later on April 15, 1983 Tokyo Disneyland debuted. Also in 1983, the new Fantasyland at Disneyland was unveiled. Over the next few years several major expansions were scheduled at EPCOT Center. With all this attention going to other parks and other expansions going on within Walt Disney World, the Magic Kingdom was sadly ignored through out much of the 1980s.

In 1986, Magic Journeys a film developed for EPCOT was replaced at that park by a new attraction, Captain Eo. Magic Journeys moved into Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom, occupying the former home of the Mickey Mouse Review. In 1988 Mickey Mouse was celebrating his 60th birthday and the Magic Kingdom celebrated by opening Mickeys Birthdayland, a "temporary area" which featured a chance to tour the famous mouses house, see him in a show, and then get his autograph afterwards. This area was so successful that it stayed around long after its projected closing date. 1989 marked the completion of a major Walt Disney World expansion. The third theme park, Disney/MGM Studios opened along with Typhoon Lagoon and Pleasure Island. Finally, some attention could be paid to the Magic Kingdom. On May 26, 1990 Mickeys Birthdayland received a new show and some new dressings, and became Mickeys Starland. In 1991 Walt Disney World Celebrated its 20th birthday.

In 1992 The Magic Kingdom opened its first major attraction in 12 years, Splash Mountain while across the ocean, Disneyland Paris, the 4th magic kingdom, opened for business. In 1994, The Magic Kingdom responded to the overwhelming success of Disneys 32nd animated feature, The Lion King, and opened the Legend of the Lion King in Fantasyland at the theater that formerly held Magic Journeys. The attraction uses puppets to retell the story of the successful movie. Also in 1994, Fantasyland lost one of its original attractions as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was closed. Over in Tomorrowland, things were looking pretty sad. Disneylands Tomorrowland had the addition of Captain EO and Star Tours to pick it up, but at the Walt Disney World Resort these attractions opened in other parks. Tomorrowland had gone for nearly 20 years without any substantial changes. And at the rate technology advances, Tomorrowland simply wasnt Tomorrowland any more. Imagineers were not interested in producing a new view of the future. They had already done that over at Future World in EPCOT Center.

They took their cue from the newly opened Disneyland Paris. That park has no Tomorrowland. Instead, they built Discoveryland which used centuries-old ideas about what the future would be like. But, for the Magic Kingdom, they didnt go back that far. They took images from movies and comic books from the 20s and 30s, and redesigned Tomorrowland with that look. In 1995, the new Tomorrowland opened with a new look for old attractions, and couple of brand new ones besides. The Carousel of Progress received a facelift, during which the original song, Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow, was returned. The WEDway People Mover became the Tomorrowland Transportation Authority. The Star Jets got a whole new look and a new name, and became the Astro Orbiter. Based on an ideal first realized at Disneyland Paris, Circle Vision became the Transportarium (later renamed The Time Keeper), an attraction that tells a story using the circle vision technology along with Audio Animatronics. An all new attraction was installed in the old Mission to Mars building. The ExtraTERRORestial Alien Encounter puts the guest in the middle of an experiment gone wrong as a hostile alien monster menaces its captive audience.

This attraction is unique to the Magic Kingdom. A new video arcade, The Tomorrowland Light and Power Co., was erected next to Space Mountain. In early 1996, Mickeys Starland was shut down and redesigned as Mickeys Toontown Fair. Based on the popular Toontown attractions installed in California and Japan, Mickeys Toontown fair includes Minnies Country House, Donalds Boat, and The Barnstormer at Goofys Wiseacres farm, a roller coaster The last attraction opened on October 1, 1996, the Parks 25th birthday. Also on this day, a new Little Mermaid Meet and Greet area opened up next to the old 20,000 leagues under the Sea attraction, and a preview center opened on Main Street. The latest addition, in 1997, a new riverboat, The River Belle, replaced the old Richard Irvine. In 1998, a new version of Tropical Serenade opened in Adventureland. The new show features Iago and Zazu, bird characters from Disney's animated features Aladdin and The Lion King.

In the fall of the same year over in Tomorrowland, Take Flight was removed to make way for Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, an attraction where you use laser guns to shoot at Aliens as you ride through. And the latest new attraction opened in Fantasyland in the summer of 1999 as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride is replaced by The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Things at the Magic Kingdom are moving at last! Disneyland Paris Brief History The History of DisneyLand Paris At A Glance In the beginning... Following on from the success of the DisneyLand theme park in Anaheim, plans to build a European version first started around 1975, nine years after Walt Disney died. Initially Britain, Italy, Spain and France were all considered as possible locations, though Britain and Italy were quickly dropped from the list of potential sites because they both lacked a suitably large expanse of flat land. The most likely site was thought to be in the Alicante area of Spain, which had a similar climate to that in Florida for a large part of the year, however the area was also beset by the notorious Mistral winds.

Eventually the French location won, and a site was duly investigated at Marne-la-Vallee, partly because of its close proximity to Paris, and also it's central positioning within western europe. A factor that was though to be crucial to the park's future success if it was to attract sufficient visitors. The proposed location put the park within 4-hours drive for around 68 million people, and 2 hours flight for a further 300 million or so. Michael Eisner signed the first letter of agreement with the French Socialist government in December 1985, and started to draw up the finantial contracts during the following spring. Robert Fitzpatrick, a key organiser of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics was appointed as the Euro Disney President, and the park slowly started to take shape, with construction starting on the 2,000 hectare site in August 1988. In December 1990, Espace Euro Disney (an information centre) was opened to the public to show what Disney were constructing.

This was followed by the opening of the casting centre on 1st September 1991 in order to start recruiting the hundreds of Cast Members that would ultimitely operate the park's many attractions. Opening Day... Euro Disney first opened to employees, for testing during late March 1992, during which time the main sponsors and their families were invited to visit the new park. The formal press preview day was held on April 11th 1992, and the park finally opened to visitors on April 12th 1992. The opening day crowds, expected to number up to 500,000 visitors, failed to materialise, however, and at close of the first day barely 50,000 people had passed through the gates. This may have been partly due protests from French locals who feared their culture would be damaged by Euro Disney, but whatever the cause the low initial attendance was very disapointing for the Disney company. The first phase of development (the theme park, hotel complex and golf course) had gone massively over budget, and had eventually cost 22 billion French Francs to complete.

Over the next few months attendance figures failed to improve much, and by May the park was only attracting something like 25,000 visitors a day, instead of the predicted 60,000. Combined with the admission that only 3 in every 10 visitors were native French, the Euro Disney company stock price started a slow downward spiral, rapidly losing almost a third of its value. Crisis looms... By August 1992 estimates of annual attendance figures were being drastically cut from 11 million to just over 9 million. EuroDisney's misfortunes were further compounded in late 1992 when a European recession caused property prices to drop sharply, and the massive interest payments on the startup loans taken out by EuroDisney forced the company into serious financial difficulties. The situation was worsened by the fact that the cheap dollar was persuading more and more people to forego Europe in favour of holidays in Florida at Walt Disney World. EuroDisney was also over-populated with hotels, especially for a park that can be reasonably well explored within a full day. Coupled with high prices for food and souvenirs, the EuroDisney company started to close hotels during the winter months.

A brave face was put on the first anniversary of the park's opening, and Sleeping Beauty's Castle was decorated as a giant birthday cake to celebrate the occasion, however further problems were just around the corner. In summer 1993 the new Indiana Jones roller-coaster ride opened, but disaster struck just a few weeks after opening when the emergency brakes locked on during a ride, causing some guest injuries. As a result the ride was temporarily shut down for investigations. By the start of 1994, with the company in serious financial difficulties, and rumours circulating the the park was on the verge of bankrupcy a series of emergency crisis talks were held between the banks and backers. Rescue... Everything came to a head during March 1994 when Team Disney offered the banks an ultimatum, that Disney would provide sufficient capital investment for the park to continue to operate until the end of the month, but unless the banks agreed to restructure the $1bn debt that the park's construction and operation had run up, the Walt Disney company would close the park, and walk away from the whole European venture, leaving the banks with a bankrupt theme park and a massive expanse of virtually worthless real estate.

EuroDisney then forced the bank's hand by calling the annual stock-holder meeting for March 15th. Faced with no alternative other than to announce to the stock holders that the park was about to close the banks started looking for ways to refinance and restructure the massive debts. Then to further increase the pressure on the banks, Michael Eisner, Disney's CEO went public shortly before the stock-holder meeting and announced that Disney were planning to pull the plug on the venture at the end of March 1994 unless the banks were prepared to restructure the loans. Finally on March 14th, just before the annual meeting the banks capitulated, and agreed to Disney's demands, effectively writing off virtually all of the next two years worth of interest payments, and a three year postponement of further loan repayments. In return the Walt Disney Company wrote off $210m in unpaid bills for services, and paid $540m for a 49% stake in the estimated value of the park, as well as restructuring it's own loan arrangements for the $210m worth of rides at the new park. The tide turns...

By August of 1994 the park was starting to find its feet at last, and all of the park's hotels were fully booked during the peak holiday season. In October 1994 the park's name was officially changed from EuroDisney to "Disneyland Paris", in order to more closely link the park with the romantic city of Paris, and to disassociate itself with the poor reputation that has become linked with the phrase "Euro Disney". The end of year figures for 1994 showed encouraging signs as the previous year's UKP 650 million loss was reduced to around 200 million, despite a 10% fall in attendance caused by bad publicity over the earlier financial problems. By the end of March 1995 top Walt Disney executives were predicting that DisneyLand Paris may break-even by the end of 1995. Helped by the opening of Space Mountain on June 1st 1995 in August 1995 Disneyland Paris and the Euro Disney resort complex announce a 22m GBP profit, followed by the first annual operating profit announced in November 1995.

"20th Anniversary" [HD] UK Celebrities Celebrate @ Disneyland Paris (Eurodisney) - YouTube "20th Anniversary" [HD] UK Celebrities Celebrate @ Disneyland Paris (Eurodisney) Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Apr 20, 2012 "Follow" us @ Twenty years ago Disneyland Paris opened its gates for the very first time and to mark the milestone anniversary, British celebrities including Kym Marsh, Jamie Lomas, Erin O'Connor and Lisa Maxwell gathered to toast the historic occasion with a hearty brew, at a truly British tea party -- on the park's famous Mad Hatter's Tea Cups attraction in Fantasyland. The British celebrity guests were also able to watch the new fantasy-fuelled day-time parade, Disney Magic On Parade. While after sunset, the families gathered in the Disneyland Park to view the brand-new Disney Dreams!

nighttime spectacular, projected onto Sleeping Beauty Castle amid an array of pyrotechnics, lasers and special effects. Category Disneyland Paris Guide By Courtney Traub Updated May 12, 2016. When Disneyland Paris first opened its gates in the Paris suburb of Marne-la-Vallée in 1992-- then called Eurodisney- many predicted it would be a flop, expecting Europeans to show little enthusiasm for the American concept. But the attraction park and resort has since become one of Europe's most popular destinations, attracting millions of visitors each year. Less than an hour's reach of Paris by a single commuter train and offering two full theme parks, a hotel and shopping and entertainment strip, the popular park makes a perfect Paris day trip and family attraction on any vacation in the city of lights . Location and Access Disneyland Paris is located approximately 20 miles east of central Paris in Marne-la-Vallée, and can be easily accessed by commuter train (RER) or high-speed train (TGV) at the Marne-la-Vallée-Chessy stop. Getting There With Public Transportation: There are several ways to get to the park from the center of the city or from the airports.

continue reading below our video America's Best Foodie Cities You may want to purchase a Paris Visite metro/attractions pass, which will allow you to get to and from Disneyland and Paris without paying for extra travel zones. From Central Paris: Take the RER A commuter train from the Chatelet-les-Halles or Nation stations in central Paris, going in the direction "Marne-la-Vallee". The train will drop you off in front of the main entrance to the park. From Paris Airports : From Charles de Gaulle-Roissy airport, take the Roissybus shuttlebus to the Opera station in Paris, then transfer to the RER A-- direction Marne la Vallee-Chessy at the Havre-Caumartin station near Opera. You can also take the high-speed TGV train directly from Terminal B at Roissy, but this is a costlier option. From Orly Airport, take the Orlybus shuttle to the Denfert-Rochereau station. Get on the RER B and take it to Chatelet-les-Halles; then connect to the RER A which will take you directly to Disneyland.

Express Tours to the Parks: Get There by Shuttle Some companies offer "express" shuttle services to Disneyland parks from central Paris, and the price also includes a day-long ticket to the main park. Read reviews and book the Disneyland Paris Express Tour direct (at TripAdvisor) Opening Hours Disneyland Park: Mon-Fri, 10 am to 7 pm; Saturdays 10 am to 10 pm; Sundays 10 am to 9 pm. Walt Disney Studios Park: Mon-Fri, 10 am to 6 pm; Saturdays 10 am to 7 pm, Sundays 10 am to 7 pm. Note: Check the official website for opening hours which may fluctuate throughout the year. Tickets and Packages Tickets to the theme parks: Consult this page at the official website for updated information on ticket prices and packages, or to reserve park tickets direct. Vacation Packages: You can book complete complete vacation packages at the Resort, including accommodations, tickets to both parks, and more, at this page . Theme Parks In terms of main attractions, the Resort boasts two main theme parks and the shopping and entertainment complex known as Disney Village .

Disneyland Park The classic Magic Kingdom park is very much reminiscent of the original in Anaheim, California, but some of the rides here bearing the same names, including Space Mountain, are perhaps less suited for children and more for adolescents and adults. Still, there are plenty of attractions and rides perfect for even the youngest enthusiasts, including classics such as the Mad Hatter's Teacup Ride. Like its US counterparts, the park is divided into several "lands": Main Street USA, Fantasyland, Adventureland, Frontierland and Discoveryland. See more information on Disneyland Park Walt Disney Studios Park The world of cinema and television is the theme of Walt Disney Studios Park. This park's most coveted attraction is currently the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, which plunges visitors in a freefall for 13 floors. There's also a tram tour of the studios and a number of attractions susceptible to interest young visitors. More Information on Walt Disney Studios Disney Village Housing an IMAX theater, dozens of restaurants, bars, and cinemas, a game arcade, and a permanent venue for the Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, Disney Village offers nearly round-the-clock entertainment. Hotels and Accommodations The Resort offers several hotels and other lodging options on or within close reach of the resort.

Read More About Disneyland Paris Hotels How to Make the Most of Your Visit? As with any highly popular attraction, some careful planning is in order if you want to avoid annoyances like excessive crowds and prohibitively long lines. After all, who wants to spend a small fortune on a theme park and then only get on three rides? I recommend going in the fall or early spring, if at all possible. Summer and late spring in Paris is extremely busy, and the lines and crowds at Disneyland are likely to be overwhelming, especially on nicer days. If you want to make the theme park a big part of your Parisian vacation, it might be worth planning a trip in March, late September or early to mid-October, when things are likely to be a bit calmer. Even a winter trip is not necessarily unpleasant-- it can be a lot of fun to visit the park at Christmas, for example. Read related feature: When's the Best Time to Visit Paris? Pictures of the Parks Branding Lessons from Disneyland Paris | DOZ Branding Lessons from Disneyland Paris Branding Lessons from Disneyland Paris 04/12/2016 On this day twenty-four years ago Disneyland Paris opened its doors to European visitors for the very first time. Sort of.

In fact, the Disneyland theme park and resort that opened its doors on 12 April 1992 was not Disneyland Paris but the Euro Disney Resort. That name lasted two years before Disney added the word ‘Paris’ to announce Euro Disney Resort Paris in 1994, and then converting the brand to Disneyland Paris in October 1994. Believe it or not, though, even this name didn’t stick. In March 2002 the name changed again and Disneyland Resort Paris was born. The jewel in the Disney crown in Europe would revert to its Disneyland Paris moniker in April 2009 and – to this point – the name has stuck. How is it that one of the world’s most successful companies when it comes to branding had so much trouble getting the name of their European resort right? How is it possible to get so much right but get the name of their resort so wrong? The reason, as we’ll explain in this post, provides a lesson for any business that is seeking to market themselves overseas. While you might not be in the position to invest billions of dollars in a new international installation, learning from Disney’s experience in Europe can help avoid some headaches further down the line.

April 1992: Euro Disney Resort The first Disney theme park and resort opened in Anaheim, California in 1955. Known as Disneyland Resort or commonly just Disneyland, the park was the first in a global chain of themed amusement parks and hotels. In 1971 Disney opened its second park, Walt Disney World or colloquially Disney World, in Bay Lake, Florida, and it quickly became one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country, and then the world. International expansion followed in 1983 with the opening of Tokyo Disneyland in Japan, a theme park that would later expand and be known as Tokyo Disney Resort when hotels, an additional theme park, and shopping facilities were added. And then it was the turn of the Europeans. After what was described as the biggest recent investment in the history of France, Disney opened their first European resort and theme park to great fanfare in April 1992 under the name Euro Disney Resort. Great fanfare, but not great visitor numbers. June 1994: Euro Disney Resort Paris A rebrand followed in an effort to boost visitor numbers and better associate the European park with the French capital just a short train ride away from its front gates.

This was a smart move, at least in relative terms, for the Disney team. Whether French locals or the many millions of visitors from Europe and across the world, when people boarded a train or pointed the car in the direction of Mickey Mouse, they were heading to Paris. The French capital and all the positive connotations that flow from it could provide some additional bang to Disney’s marketing buck. Add to this the common sense that comes with branding the park and resort similarly to the other international Disney park in Tokyo, and the company was heading in the right direction. The problem, though, wasn’t the last word in the ‘Euro Disney Resort Paris’ name. It was the first word: Euro. While for Americans the term ‘Euro’ conjures up class, something exotic, and maybe even something luxurious, for the audience of customers that would most often visit the park, the connotation was something different. In a society with a common currency called the euro, a European Union, continental bureaucrats known colloquially as ‘eurocrats’, and all sorts of transnational institutions prefixed by the term ‘euro’, the Disney venture sounded vaguely bureaucratic. Not so much the most wonderful place on Earth but more the place where dreams go to die.

Not at all the best idea for a theme park, you’d agree. October 1994: Disneyland Paris Only six months after adding the word ‘Paris’ to the name of the resort and theme park, Disney renamed the entire project again. It was out with ‘Euro Disney Resort Paris’ and in with ‘Disneyland Paris’. As then Disney CEO Michael Eisner would comment, “As Americans, the word ‘Euro’ is believed to mean glamorous or exciting. For Europeans it turned out to be a term they associated with business, currency, and commerce. Renaming the park ‘Disneyland Paris’ was a way of identifying it with one of the most romantic and exciting cities in the world. Finally, Disney had got the name right. The name ‘Disneyland Paris’ kept the focus of the visitor on the two things that would draw European visitors to the resort and park: the Disney name, and the Parisian appeal. For a population that associates the term ‘resort’ with the beach, it made no sense to call this former-beetroot field hundreds of miles from the coast a ‘resort’. Sticking with the basics that the audience understands proved effective for Disney in France. Until they second-guessed themselves.

March 2002: Disneyland Resort Paris Why would Disney change the perfect name to something less than perfect? And why would they presume that customers who rejected the idea of a resort in an agricultural district on the outskirts of a landlocked European capital city were going to accept it now that the term ‘Euro’ was no longer attached? The answers to these questions are unknown but speak greatly to the American assumptions about European cultural norms. By the time the 2009 anniversary of Disney’s arrival in Europe rolled around the name was changed back to the successful and appropriate Disneyland Paris. What Did Disney Do Wrong? In the various names for their European theme park complex that Disney worked through before settling on Disneyland Paris there were two words that meant a lot to the people running the company back in the US but meant little – or something completely different altogether – to the customers in Europe. The first was ‘Euro’ which, despite its positive connotations across the Atlantic meant mainly commerce, bureaucracy, and an increasingly unpopular legal regime in France, the Netherlands, Ireland, and elsewhere. The second was ‘Resort’ which is associated with either the beach, or a mountain top retreat in Europe.

The idea of heading to a theme park or an attraction park, as it might be known locally, and calling it a resort is not something that the local audience will understand. For the marketing team back in the United States, of course, a Parisian resort is exactly what they hoped to sell – but people traveling to the City of Lights don’t expect to find a resort, they expect to find a city; and those traveling to Disneyland just outside of Paris don’t expect a resort, either. In short, Disney marketed and branded their European location with the sorts of words that would appeal to them back in the United States instead of the sorts of words that would appeal to the people actually visiting the park in Europe. What Can You Learn from Disneyland Paris? When you take your business international are you branding it for yourself and your current customers, or are you branding it for the people who you hope will be customers in the future? It takes significant time, effort, and expenditure to develop a brand – that’s certain – and changing that brand for a new market can be risky. But as Disney has proved with Disneyland Paris, it can be dangerous to keep your branding the same when there is a new audience that doesn’t see things quite the same way as your existing audience.

Hong Kong Disneyland | Roller Coaster Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia In 1955, Walt Disney brought a revolutionary idea to the amusement park industry; a theme park. Instead of focusing solely on rides and roller coasters, this theme park would follow varying themes throughout his park. This was a monster success, and the idea was greatly capitalized on by other companies and Walt Disney himself. 1971 brought the next major addition to the Disney Theme Park family. Walt Disney World was a massive resort, spread out over 20,000 acres making it the largest theme park resort in the world. Over the next thirty years the resort would grow by leaps and bounds, expanded to include four theme parks, two water parks, and over twenty resort hotels. © Disney Spreading the Magic:The Disney company continually expanded to Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong, and Florida where the Walt Disney World Resort is located.The only place left for the company to expand was internationally, and that’s just what they did. Tokyo Disneyland opened as a single theme park just outside of Japan’s capital city in 1983 but would eventually add a second theme park, three resort hotels, and a shopping center.

The next international territory to conquer was Europe. Disneyland Paris opened its gates in 1992 to underwhelming reviews. Despite the park’s initial lack of success, it has grown just like its sister resorts to include a second theme park, seven resort hotels, and a shopping center. A little over a decade after Disneyland Resort Paris opened, rumors began to spread about a brand new Disney resort. This one was rumored to be located in the most populous country in the world, China. The rumors turned out to be true, and the resort would be built off the coast of China in Hong Kong. It would be constructed on Lantau Island, the largest in Hong Kong which also hosts the massive international airport making it a very convenient location for a Disney Resort. The project was officially announced a year before the new millennium, but construction wouldn’t start until four years later, in 2003. The project was the fastest completed out of all the Disneyland parks, due to its small size. In fact Hong Kong Disneyland would be, and still is to this day, the smallest Disneyland in the world. Along with the theme park the resort would also have a man-made recreational lake and two hotels, in typical Disney style.

© Disney Another New Resort:Hong Kong Disneyland is the company’s fifth theme park resort and the third internationally.The design of Hong Kong Disneyland had to go through a much more intricate and completed process than other Disney parks however. This is due to the difference between Chinese customs and all other places where there are Disney parks and resorts. The park was built using many elements of Feng Shui, an important Chinese custom. This was included in the park in such ways as the direction of the entrance of rides and attractions, being placed between two prominent mountains and others. The two resort hotels built for opening day were Disney’s Hollywood Hotel and Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel. Disney’s Hollywood Hotel follows the theme of the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, despite being halfway around the world from it. There are 600 guestrooms in the eight-story hotel. Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel is a much grander hotel, but has fewer rooms at about 400. There are also three ballrooms, two presidential suites, four pools, a spa and a gym to name just a few features. © Disney Space Mountain:A staple at all Disney parks, this Space Mountain was manufactured by Vekoma.At opening day the park would have four themed lands and about twenty-three rides and attractions.

In a clockwise order the four lands were Main Street USA, Adventureland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland. The immensely popular Frontierland is notably missing from the lineup. This was already an indicator of the park’s small size. Among the major attractions ready for opening day were The Jungle River Cruise and Space Mountain. Disney fans and the general public alike noticed the absence of many classic Disney attractions such as Thunder Mountain, It’s a small world, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain. Disney officials stated that the Haunted Mansion was excluded from the list of attractions due to differences in the Chinese beliefs about the afterlife. On September 4, 2005 a preview day was held at the park. Guests poured into the park, filling it nearly to capacity which was then 30,000. This resulted in severe overcrowding reminiscent of the original Disneyland when it opened its gates for the first time. The massive amount of people led to severe line times reaching forty-five minutes for fast food and an average of over two hours for the rides and attractions.

© Disney A Disney Staple:Space Mountain is a popular Disney attraction that is located in all five Disneyland style parks.Opening day finally arrived on September 12, 2005 to much fanfare and celebration. The park was considerably less crowded this time, with around 16,000 guests. However, Hong Kong Disneyland faced different problems than overcrowding. There were many disruptive and unruly guests who did not follow the rules laid down and caused many problems throughout the day that weren’t good for Hong Kong Disneyland’s reputation. Many guests were seen smoking in designated non-smoking areas and a woman was caught helping her young son urinate in a flowerbed. Despite the numerous problems that befell the new park it did not have trouble reaching attendance expectations, and within three months the park had already attracted one million visitors. Soon after the park opened Disney began to respond to the minimal number of attractions available at the park. A plan was laid out for how the resort would grow. The first phase of this plan saw three new attractions in the summer of 2006, all of which were in Tomorrowland which had opened with a measly three attractions. Autopia was one of these attractions.

Hong Kong Disneyland was the only Disneyland park to open without one of these rides. Stitch Encounter is another attraction that was added and is similar to Turtle Talk With Crush, located at Epcot and the original Disneyland. UFO Zone was the last of these and is a water play area. © Disney An Era of Expansion:Tomorrowland was the focus of the first phase of expansion at Hong Kong Disneyland, receiving three new attractions.The plan also continues into 2007 and 2008. Mickey’s Waterwork Parade debuted July 7, 2007 and will last for the rest of the summer season as part of Mickey’s Summer Blast, yet another event put forth by the park. Animation Academy is a new attraction that is scheduled to open in summer of 2007 along Main Street USA. This attraction already exists at the Disney MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida. The final part of the first phase is likely the biggest and most exciting. It’s a Small World will debut in 2008 and will be a welcome star addition to Hong Kong Disneyland. In May 2007 Adventureland went under a major transformation to become Pirateland.

The transformation was made to celebrate the release of the third film in the hit Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Ironically, there is no Pirates of the Caribbean located in the park. Among the changes that were made, was the temporary renovation of Jungle River Cruise to become Jungle River Cruise, Pirate Takeover!. Other changes included new scenery added throughout the area and new street entertainment such as Captain Jack Sparrow’s Pirate Boot Camp. These changes will last until August 2007 when Mickey’s Summer Blast comes to a close, and the area will be reverted once again to Adventureland. Despite its small size, Hong Kong Disneyland has been a hit and is one of the most successful new Disney parks to date. Over the next few decades, the resort is likely to double in size as a large parcel of land has been reserved for future theme park development. Due to the success of the new resort, Disney has publically stated its interest in building a second resort in mainland China, however nothing has been confirmed as of yet. Until that happens, if it does, Hong Kong Disneyland will most certainly remain the most magical place in China.

Question: What attraction opened its gates for the first time in Mame-la-Vallee, Paris in 1992?
Answer: Euro Disney